The mother of a Filipina exchange student in Japan has thanked the University of Manila (UM) for providing her daughter, Jan Ellaine Bitara, with a quality education and sponsoring the continuation of her studies in Tokyo.
Mayeth Bitara said, in a social media post, that her daughter Jan made her alma mater and the country proud by excelling academically and in pitching how good Filipino students can be when given a solid educational foundation.
Jane Ellaine Bitara
Jane aced her Japanese language proficiency test jointly administered by the Japan Foundation and Japan Exchanges and Services, with a final score of 99.5 percent.
“Studying in Japan is a great opportunity for her to learn more about Japanese language, culture, and cuisine,” Mayeth posted on Facebook this week. “And we are also proud to share that she was one of students chosen to represent and promote our country, the Philippines, in another school at Okinawa, Japan. She was able to provide insight about how wonderful our country is from afar.”
The mother then thanked UM president Dr. Emily De Leon and the school’s exchange program for giving Jan Ellaine the opportunity to study abroad.
She also thanked her daughter’s professors, Marjorie Borces and Rochelle Anne Fallorina, for their guidance, untiring support, and assistance prior to our daughter's trip to Japan.
Mayeth said their guidance allowed her daughter to pass the JLPT-N5 with flying colors with a score of 118 over 120.
“We are also grateful to all the people who work with Heiwa Nakajima Foundation and MEIO University to make this experience possible,” she said.
In response, Dr. De Leon said that University of Manila prides itself on its successful graduates and board passers who, through sheer educational hard work, later on, have become successful in life.
She said that since its founding in 1913, the university has maintained a high standard if only so its graduates would be fully equipped to stand out in the respective fields they have chosen when they have already joined the labor pool or have become entrepreneurs, or employers themselves.
“While a private school, we offer probably the lowest tuition and so, in effect, our students are subsidized by the school. They are our scholars, so to speak,” Dr. De Leon said.
“As scholars, UM students know they have to work hard for their grades. Later in life, they come back to thank us, but our happiness comes from seeing that the school has given them the foundation to fly high,” she added.